Small town, main street by Complete Streets is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted by congressional Republicans and President Trump:

Industrial Weldors & Machinists in Minnesota hired new employees and invested in employee pensions.

Glier’s Meats in Kentucky increased employee wages, hire new employees, purchase new equipment, and increase employee benefit packages.

Bean Counter Farm in Arkansas hired new employees and invested in business growth.

Sun Company News and Printing in New York raised employee pay, upgraded software and equipment, and re-instituted a 2% match on employee IRAs.

Guy Chemical Company in Pennsylvania gave pay raises and bonuses and purchased new equipment.

Shortway Brewing Co. in Connecticut gave employee raises and hired new employees.

Hinee Gourmet Coffee in Texas gave employee raises, increased employee benefits, and invested in new equipment.

Deckscapes in Virginia gave employee raises, started employee IRAs, purchased new equipment, and introduced a new bonus structure.

Advanced Superabrasives in North Carolina invested in workforce training and gave employees three separate pay raises.

Rockford Ball Screw in Illinois hired 25 new employees and expanded their facilities by 30,000 feet.

Northwest Motor Services in Washington gave employee raises and hired new employees.

Cooperstown Environmental in Massachusetts doubled the company-paid retirement contribution for all employees.

WebHobby Shop in Michigan raised employee wages.

Junk King in Nevada purchased new equipment and hired new employees.

Below is a list of the five most recent additions to the small business list complete with citations and quotations. If you know of other examples please send to [email protected]. To view the full list, click here.

Iron Fish Distillery (Thompsonville, Michigan) – Because of the Tax Cuts And Jobs Act, the owner was able to create new full time jobs and invest in the company:

“For us this has been a game changer. This tax incentive, this tax decrease really came right at a time when we needed to take some risks, and invest in the business and hire people and so it was, I think, as intended, worked here at Iron Fish,” said Anderson. – Dec. 17, 2019, 9&10 News article.

One Coastal Bend (Corpus Christi, Texas) – The tax cut allowed the brewery to create new jobs and buy more equipment:

One Coastal Bend craft beer brewer is breathing a sigh of relief after Congress decided to extend a federal tax cut.

Nueces Brewing Company, co-owned by Brandon Harper, opened back in June with help from the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act. The Reform Act allows breweries a cut in the amount of taxes paid on the first 100,000 proof gallons. A temporary excise tax cut was set to expire on Dec. 31.

Harper said Congress agreed to extend it for another year. Harper will continue to be taxed $7 on every barrel of beer he produces instead of $14.

“The last thing we want to have to do is to raise our prices. We want to be able to keep operating, provide great beer at affordable prices. It’s hard for us to compete with the big boys,” Harper said.

According to Harper, thanks to that tax cut he can now buy more equipment and hire more people. – Dec. 17, 2019, KIIITV article.

Trail Distilling (Oregon City, Oregon) – The distillery was able to hire more employees and invest in new equipment because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:

“It allowed us to put that savings back into our distillery,” Sara Brennan, co-owner of Oregon City’s Trail Distilling told KOIN 6 in September. “It allowed us to hire more people for sales … (and) invest in more equipment so we can distill more product.” – Dec. 15, 2019, KOIN 6 article.

Powder Monkey Fireworks Inc., (Weldon Spring, Missouri) – The company deposited a bonus IRA contribution into employee’s accounts:

“The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act brings confidence to seasonal firework retailers and patriotic consumers who celebrate freedom each July 4th with fireworks. Our success in 2018 has allowed powder monkey FIREWORKS, Inc to contribute a bonus equal to 25% of annual payroll into SEP IRA accounts at no cost to employees. Our employees work evening, weekend, overnight, and seasonal summer job shifts to earn extra income retailing fireworks. Lower tax rates bring higher wages, more payroll, and more employeebenefits.” — Chris Sander, President of Powder Monkey Fireworks

Pig Minds (Machesney Park, Illinois) – Because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the brewery was able to create new jobs:

Illinois breweries have 26 days until a tax break expires. That’s why hundreds of small businesses are coming together to ask congress for an extension.

For Shane Johnson, expanding Pig Minds in Machesney Park is going to make a huge difference in the way it does business.

“We are getting ready to expand our brewing capabilities, add a canning line so we can get a bigger footprint out and keep up with demand. We have a problem with keeping up with demand with two of our beers, especially in the summer time. This is going to alleviate that problem,” said Pig Minds General Manager Shane Johnson. 

One way the brewery was able to expand is with a little help saved from the Federal Excise Tax (FET) rate. The Illinois Craft Brewers Guild says since 2017, the tax break has saved breweries money by lowering the cost of barrels from $7 each to $3.50 each. – Dec. 5, 2019, WREX article.

Lyon Distilling Company (St. Michaels, Maryland) – The owner said that the distillery used savings from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to double locations, create new jobs, and invest in new equipment:

I mean, in the last two years every distillery I know has taken the savings from this tax cut and reinvested in their team, in their equipment, expanded, doubled locations. Lyon Distilling has grown ten times in size alone in the last two years. – Dec. 5, 2019, WMAU radio show.